Flashback Friday Spotlight: Game Genie

You all know the saying – cheater’s never prosper. That saying never really counted for video games. Gamers come with all kinds of skill levels. Some need assistance to get past a particularly tough level. Others want to play a game without worrying about death. Cheats have given all gamers equal access to games. We have had access to cheats for as far back as I remember. For Flashback Friday, I want to look back at one of my favorite ways to cheat – Game Genie.

Check out that commercial!!!! Game Genie, which was designed by Codemasters and Galoob, was a device that allowed us to cheat on a variety of NES, Super NES, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and Game Gear games. The process was simple – place the cartridge into the Game Genie, which then goes into the system. From there, you use a booklet to enter in codes for the game. The codes had everything – extra lives, skip levels, you name it.

Now the Game Genie had it’s share of bumps in the road. In Galoob v Nintendo, the company attempted to prove that the Game Genie did not violate any copyright laws with the NES. The Game Genie was temporarily taken off shelves until the case was resolved. The courts ruled in favor of Galoob, allowing Game Genie to remain in retail.

It was a wonderful tool for gamers. Nowadays, we have to deal with a different type of cheating, like hacks and exploits. That type of cheating is not acceptable. We also have mods out there that some may think are a way of cheating. We don’t really need a device like Game Genie anymore. Besides mods, we have built in cheat codes, wikis, walkthroughs, and YouTube to show us how to get through a hard area. But I am thankful for the Game Genie and the fun it brought to countless video game sessions in my childhood.

Did you play the Game Genie? If so, let us know your favorite cheat in the comments below!